Bird Flu Center

People residing in the flood affected areas of Thailand have received warning that a bird flu outbreak might ensue once the water level declines the following month. Provincial livestock officials in those regions have been given instructions about spraying disinfectant from that moment on, to prevent such an event. The areas affected by floods is where many people raise breeding cows and goats for export. The residents have been provided with rations of dried grass for the livestock, while a further quantity awaits deployment in the region.

Thailand has reported its third bird flu victim this year. A 59 year old farmer living in the country’s north-east died on the 10th of August, in a region near the Lao border. A senior health ministry official declared that it is believed he had been in contact with sick poultry just before falling ill. Laboratory tests on samples taken from the man were completed only last week, giving for a late discovery of the case. Thailand has recorded 17 bird flu deaths since 2004 and although its initial response to the disease was believed to be slow and inefficient, the country is now praised by international authorities as being one of the best prepared to combat the highly deadly virus.

Thailand has found no outbreaks of avian influenza on its territory for more than one month. Phichit and Nakhon Phanom provinces have been removed from the flu infected provinces as early as August 23rd. A seminar held on Thursday gave Dr. Jaral Trinvuthipon, an assistant to a Thai minister, the opportunity to make the announcement that the country is on the right way to eradicating the disease. International authorities attribute Thailand’s success in containing the virus to good detection of new outbreaks and a rapid reaction and measures of dealing with an outbreak. Thai authorities now hope that the disease will be completely eliminated by the year 2008.

Charal Trinvuthipon, the Thailand Vice Minister for Agriculture, announced that the country’s severe bird flu prevention measures will remain in place until the end of the year, focusing on free-range duck-raising farmers, who are forced to choose the closed system farming, which can reduce the risk of infection from wild birds. More than half of Thailand’s duck farmers have registered for this system so far. Other measures will control the spread of the virus carried by migratory birds, whilst harsh punitive measures will be taken against those who clandestinely transport or sell poultry of unknown origin.  The country will also continue with its campaigns meant to raise awareness and consciousness of poultry farmers and vendors.

46 people from 16 different provinces of Thailand are being kept under close medical surveillance, after developing flu-like symptoms. The announcement was made by the country’s Public Health Minister on Sunday. 96 other people are awaiting laboratory results to check if their illnesses are caused by one of the strains of the bird flu virus. Thailand is one of the countries fighting current avian influenza outbreaks in several provinces from across the country. In the latest outbreak, a 27 year old man from Uthai Thani died at the beginning of August, bringing the country’s victim count to 16. Previously that week, in Phichit, another case had been recorded, causing officials to start a massive chicken culling campaign in the area.

Fearing the latest bird flu outbreaks will not be contained fast enough, Thailand has declared the disease a national threat and embarked on a national effort to tackle the dangerous virus, which has claimed the lives of 16 people since first appearing in the country in 2004. A meeting of about 260 local officials was held  and Deputy Prime Minister urged everyone to take the matter very seriously. The virus outbreaks could seriously jeopardize tourism as well as the local poultry industry. Few days ago, more than one third of the country, including the capital Bangkok, was declared a disaster zone, in an attempt to help local officials fight the avian influenza outbreaks. Before the appearance of the disease, Thailand had been the world’s biggest poultry exporter. However, bans imposed from different countries to avoid a further spread of the virus have badly affected the industry.

Nirandorn Uangtrakulsook, Thailand’s Agriculture Ministry, has announced the start of a country wide campaign which will try to stop the resurgence of the H5N1 virus, the one causing avian influenza, that has caused the death of two people in the last three weeks alone. During this week-long campaign, every house from 29 provinces will be checked by hundreds of thousands of volunteers. These will check backyard farms for sick or dead poultry and will also try to educate villagers about the disease. Any sickened or dead bird with a suspicion of bird flu infection will cause all the poultry on a one km radius to be culled. Of Thailand’s 76 provinces, more than one third are bird flu risk zones. Since the beginning of the bird flu outbreaks in Asia, late 2003, 16 Thais have died from the disease, which is now spreading to other parts of the world.

A chicken farm worker from the Uthai Thani province in Thailand has become possibly the third confirmed bird flu case in the past two weeks. The 19 year old man had buried dead birds, possibly infected with the H5N1 virus, without using and proper protection equipment. He has been put under hospital surveillance now. The man fell ill last Thursday and was admitted to the provincial hospital on Saturday. Laboratory tests are awaited to verify whether or not the suspicions are proven. Thai authorities have given strict instructions to about 800,000 public health volunteers that villagers should be instructed to exercise extreme caution when handling dead birds, as it is the most common form of infection to humans. As of today, a national cleanliness campaign will also be started, trying to encourage people to wash their hands frequently.

A 27 year old man that had buried diseased chickens on his farm, without using any protective clothing, has died following an infection with the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu virus. Thailand is in the middle of a serious avian influenza outbreak which has swept across different provinces. Another death had been recorded last month and now the country is stepping up surveillance, although suspicions of new human infections arise every day.

The Thai Public Health Ministry said on Monday that laboratory tests have been conducted on samples taken from 131 people suspected to have contracted the bird flu virus. They are all under surveillance until a positive confirmation of the disease. Since the beginning of this year there have been almost 2,000 cases of suspicions in humans. The most affected province is now Phichit, with 37 of the persons suspected to be carriers of the virus living in that area. Sukhothai and Phitsanulok are two other provinces with a high number of suspicions. Medical experts and senior health officials are on high alert in an attempt to control the virus, as well as dengue, fever and hand, foot and mouth syndrome. 300,000 fowls were culled on Sunday alone in the province of Nakhon Phanom, where diseased chickens had been found. 765 persons in the area were also monitored for a period of two weeks, to make sure the virus had not spread to humans.

Just days after the Asian country announced its 15th bird flu human fatality, but only its first this year, a flock of chickens in the northeastern province of Nakhon Phanom has been found to be infected with the disease. Around 2,200 chickens died on farms across the province last week and laboratory tests confirmed that some of them had fallen victim to the highly pathogenic virus H5N1. It is the second bird flu outbreak confirmed in Thailand in the last two weeks, as Deputy Agriculture Minster Adisorn Piengket reported during a news conference. However these new cases have triggered a state of alert among both agricultural and health authorities in the country. All chickens in the area (around 300,000 of them, in 78 farms) were culled, while a ban was imposed on the transport of any poultry from a perimeter of 10 kilometers around the hotbed. The population has been asked not to panic, but caution is to be exerted when dealing with any suspicious poultry deaths.

One of the world’s largest poultry exporters, Thailand, announced the death of a man from the Phetchabun province, lying about 350 kilometers north of Bangkok. The man had tested positive for H5N1, the avian influenza virus, and now part of the province is declared a red zone, as the highest level of bird flu alert. Although the case is the only one in the last 7 months in the country, world wide bird flu caused fatalities have tripled this year, as the virus has spread rapidly among wild birds and most noticeably domestic poultry, infecting flocks across 38 countries. New cases give reasons for concern the the virus could mutate into a form easily transmittable among humans, which could cause a flu pandemic. Of the 231 people infected world wide since the first outbreak, three years ago, 133 have died. Thailand in particular has faced 18 human flu cases, two of which were in the Phichit province.

One of the world’s largest poultry exporters, Thailand, announced the death of a man from the Phetchabun province, lying about 350 kilometers north of Bangkok. The man had tested positive for H5N1, the avian influenza virus, and now part of the province is declared a red zone, as the highest level of bird flu alert. Although the case is the only one in the last 7 months in the country, world wide bird flu caused fatalities have tripled this year, as the virus has spread rapidly among wild birds and most noticeably domestic poultry, infecting flocks across 38 countries. New cases give reasons for concern the the virus could mutate into a form easily transmittable among humans, which could cause a flu pandemic. Of the 231 people infected world wide since the first outbreak, three years ago, 133 have died. Thailand in particular has faced 18 human flu cases, two of which were in the Phichit province.

The disease that killed a flock of chickens in a northern province of Thailand has been confirmed to be caused by the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus, as authorities stated. It is the country’s first such outbreak in the last eight months and the Deputy Agriculture Minister Charan Trinvuthipong told the press the country was already on alert, as vigilance needs to be exerted. Another government official told reporters that the outbreak appeared on a farm in the province of Pichit, on a flock belonging to an unregistered farm. About 260 chickens were culled in the region to prevent the avian influenza virus from spreading, while the movement of poultry was forbidden on a 10-kilometer radius from the spot. Thailand has so far suffered 14 human deaths from the virus’ first occurrences.

A group of chickens in a northern region of Thailand is suspected to have died last week as bird flu carriers, with the H5N1 strain being feared as the source of infection, a Thai official from the Ministry of Agriculture declared. The death of 31 chickens in the province of Phichit lead to tests being carried out on the birds. Initial findings however, could not pinpoint the virus between H5N1 and a more common form of H5N2. However, the high mortality rate gives reasons to believe the highly pathogenic H5N1 form is to be blamed for the disease which caused the death of the poultry. Thailand has not had any case of bird flu in poultry for more than 8 months. Government officials say they are closely monitoring areas where heavy rains and flooding have taken place, as wet climates represent a perfect environment for avian influenza.

A bird hunter and his son-in-law, living in a rural area in Thailand, are suspected to be infected with the bird flu virus. The two men feasted on wildfowl together and are both admitted to the Uttaradit Provincial Hospital, with suspicions of having contracted bird influenza. One hospital official said that results of further tests are being awaited, as a science laboratory in Phitsanulok will be able to pronounce a clear verdict. The two, aged 67 and 35, respectively, were hospitalized with flu symptoms. The father-in-law had previously shot a wild bird and cooked it to share with his son-in-law.

Senior officials in Thailand say the country has so far managed to stock up 1.5 million capsules of Oseltamivir, a drug which will help cope with a possible spread of the bird flu virus. During a seminar of the Public Health Ministry it was also announced Thailand has 300,000 doses of regular influenza vaccine and that health officials in all provinces are being trained to deal with a worst-case scenario of bird flu outbreaks, with closer attention being paid to the provinces where outbreaks used to happen. These include Kamphaeng Phet, Kanchanaburi, Suphan Buri, Sukho Thai, Nonthaburi, Phichit, Nakhon Sawan and Nakhon Nayok.